Barramundi
Fair
Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
Katherine River at Nitmiluk Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Katherine River at Nitmiluk: barramundi, sooty grunter and the gorge, with the Bureau’s gauge at the Nitmiluk Centre.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
-2.08 m
Air / High
25 °C / 36 °C
Wind
E 21 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge G8140022, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Katherine River at Nitmiluk has the water in the comfortable band where most of its fish feed through the day. The gauge reads -2.08 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 21 km/h, steady pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 36 °C. Water sits around 26 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM: the windows to build the day around.
Tie on: Soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jighead · Small hardbody, shallow diver · Squid jig, size 3.0 · Fresh pipi or worm on a small hook. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Similar at 33 °C with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Northern Territory has no general fishing licence, but rules and permits apply. Northern Territory fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing barramundi here? Check the size and bag limits with NT Fisheries before you keep anything; the Barramundi page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Katherine River at Nitmiluk today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:27), sunset (18:36), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM; minor 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Full Moon, 99% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station G8140022 (Katherine River - Nitmiluk Centre).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station G8140022. Latest reading 2026-09-24 06:40.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp25 °C
High / Low36 °C / 21 °C
WindE 21 km/h, gusts 45 km/h
Pressure1017.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:27 / 18:36
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~26 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Katherine River at Nitmiluk
The best day on Katherine River at Nitmiluk this week looks like Saturday 26 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today. Every day is scored by the same engine as the report above: pressure trend first, then wind, sky and season. Pick a species and the plan for that day changes with it.
Best day this week: Saturday, 26 Sept — good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 25 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 06:27 to 18:36
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 21 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Katherine River at Nitmiluk: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Barramundi
Run-off (March to May) and build-up (October to November) in the north; check the closed season on the Queensland east coast
The north's fish. Tidal rivers, run-off creeks, rock bars and the stocked impoundments. Warm water, moving water and a barometer on the way down. Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
When to come: the Katherine River at Nitmiluk calendar
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Barramundi
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 26 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Katherine River at Nitmiluk today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Barramundi led the card at good. High of 36 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Barramundi led the card at good. High of 36 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Barramundi led the card at good. High of 36 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Northern Territory has no general recreational fishing licence; the limits and closures do. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by NT Fisheries and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Northern Territory licence page before you keep anything.
Access
The Northern Territory has no fishing licence; the barramundi possession limit and Nitmiluk National Park’s rules, which close the gorges to fishing, apply, on the pages linked below.
About this water
Katherine River at Nitmiluk is a river in Northern Territory, Australia, covered from the Northern Territory reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Katherine River at Nitmiluk: the full guide
The reach
The Katherine at Nitmiluk is the river as it leaves the thirteen gorges of Nitmiluk National Park and runs toward the town of Katherine, with the Nitmiluk Centre, the cruise and canoe landing, the walking tracks and the river reaches down through the town to the Low Level crossing. It is barramundi and grunter water of the Top End with a gorge above it, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the Nitmiluk Centre supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Barramundi fish the rock bars, the snags and the deep pools through the dry and on the run-off, with no closed season in the Territory and the possession limit and the park’s rules the constraints; sooty grunter are on every rock bar; saratoga are in the still pools; catfish and archer fish are everywhere; and the gorge itself is closed to fishing under the park’s rules. Freshwater crocodiles are in every pool and saltwater crocodiles are removed from the gorge each dry season after the wet brings them up.
Where to fish it
The river below the Nitmiluk Centre and the reaches down through Katherine town, the Low Level and the Katherine Hot Springs area are the fishing water, from the bank and by canoe; the gorges above the landing are for canoeing and looking, not fishing, under the park’s rules. The town reaches fish for barramundi and grunter on the run-off and through the dry.
Reading the report
The chart shows a Top End river that floods the town in a big wet and falls to clear pools through the dry; the run-off as the river drops is the barramundi time and the rain row shows the wet. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, gives a long barramundi band; the gorge country shelters the water; pressure counts before a storm.
Rules and access
The Northern Territory has no fishing licence; the barramundi possession limit and Nitmiluk National Park’s rules, which close the gorges to fishing, apply, on the pages linked below. The Nitmiluk Centre, the landing and the town reaches are public under the park’s and the council’s rules.
Common questions
Can I fish in Katherine Gorge?
No. The gorges above the landing are closed to fishing under Nitmiluk National Park’s rules; the river below the centre and through the town is the fishing water.
Do I need a licence at Katherine?
No. The Northern Territory has no recreational fishing licence; the barramundi possession limit and the park’s rules apply.
Is fishing good at Katherine River at Nitmiluk right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station G8140022 — Katherine River - Nitmiluk Centre
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.